Txt Msgs No Good 4 Helping Women 2 Take Birth Control Pills: Study

ByKatherine Hobson

Women have a hard time remembering to consistently take their birth-control pills. Meantime, text messages and cellphones are being tested as a way to remind patients to take anti-HIV therapies, get tested for STDs, get some exercise and use sunscreen, among other health behaviors.

Sounds like a perfect combination of need and technology, right?

Not so much, as it turns out; a study of 82 women found that daily text messages didn’t help women take their birth control pills more consistently — both the text-receiving women and a control group missed an average of almost five pills per cycle. (No one in the three-month study got pregnant.)

The study, published in Obstetrics & Gynecology, differed from some other studies looking at texting and medication adherence — it didn’t rely on patient reports to gauge effectiveness, but used electronic monitoring devices that told researchers when a pill dispenser was opened. Patients knew this was happening, study author Melody Hou, an instructor in obstetrics and gynecology at Boston University School of Medicine, tells the Health Blog.

Women in the control group didn’t receive reminder texts, but as part of normal counseling they were told to use their own reminder tricks, such as taking the pills at the same time as a daily vitamin or setting a cellphone alarm. A lot of them — 68% — used some reminding system, which may explain why there was no significant difference between the groups, says Hou.

She says nothing has shown to be particularly effective in reminding women to take their birth control pills. That’s one of its major drawbacks, and why some women are opting for no-memory-required birth control methods such as IUDs and the vaginal ring, the New York Times reported over the weekend. (Hou and another study author have received honoraria from makers of various forms of birth control.)

Image: iStockphoto

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